Pump

Deck the halls, plum the pudding, make merry under the mistletoe: The holidays are party season and now's your time to shine. And whether you're headed to the festivities directly from the office or just need to get ready fast, the quickest way to add glamour to your look is by paying attention to lips and eyes. "Lashes and lipstick are really the quickest, easiest way to make the transition from day to evening," says Gina Brooke, Intraceuticals skin care ambassador and former Shu Uemura artistic director, whose celebrity clients have included Anne Hathaway and Madonna.

"Duck Dynasty" is nothing to quack at. The finale of the A&E reality show about a Louisiana bayou family that has established a sporting empire by fabricating fancy duck calls and decoys out of salvaged swamp wood was the highest-rated telecast in the cable network's history, drawing 6.5 million viewers. The hour-long episode also shattered A&E's audience records among several demographic groups, including adults 18-49, adults 25-54 and adults 18-34. "'Duck Dynasty' represent the best of A&E's unique brand of storytelling, showcasing authentic and engaging characters," said Bob DeBitetto, president and general manager of A&E Network.

Toyota Motor Corp. on Wednesday announced two safety recalls for its flagship Prius hybrid and a separate agreement to pay $25.5 million to settle a shareholder lawsuit related to its sudden acceleration problems. In one recall, the automaker said the steering intermediate extension shafts in 670,000 Prius cars sold in the U.S. need to be inspected and in some cases replaced. In the second recall, 350,000 of those hybrids also will have to have their electric water pumps replaced.

USC could have been deflated. The Trojans had lost two games in a row. They spent a week absorbing blows for their defensive performance against Oregon and for using illegally deflated balls against the Ducks. And now, boos were raining down upon their sputtering offense during the first half of Saturday's game against Arizona State at the Coliseum. But No. 21 USC regrouped at halftime, got a lift from senior tailback Curtis McNeal and rode a pumped-up defense to a 38-17 victory that kept the Trojans in the hunt for the Rose Bowl.

Somebody let the air out of USC football -- literally. A student manager has been relieved of his duties for helping to further deflate a program that once imposed its will on the opposition with broad-daylight sweeps called "Student Body Left" and "Student Body Right. " USC's secret weapon never used to be the eye needle of a tire pump. USC had non-secret weapons named Charles White, Marcus Allen, Ronnie Lott and Anthony Munoz. It was the program of "here's what we're going to do, you try to stop it. " The Trojans have gone from strong-in-the-pocket to pick-pockets.

The storm-related shutdown of an important New Jersey refinery and cutbacks on production runs at other refineries along the Delaware River may kick up East Coast gasoline prices at the pump later this week, but analysts were predicting that any price jump would probably be short-lived. Phillips 66 said that it has closed its 240,000-barrel-a-day Bayway refinery in Linden, N.J., because of the possibility of storm surges from Hurrican Sandy. Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service in New Jersey, said that buyers were reacting to that news by scrambling for supplies.

When a 17-year-old high school football player says he wants to apply to Caltech and MIT, everyone should take notice. Alejandro Lupercio, a 6-foot-2, 193-pound senior linebacker at Los Angeles Garfield, has his sights set on becoming a mechanical engineer. "It's not going to be easy, but I can do it," he said. With a 4.2 grade-point average, Lupercio is more than just a key player on the field. He's a tutor for teammates in study hall. When Coach Lorenzo Hernandez needs someone to help with a calculus question, it's usually Lupercio.

WASHINGTON - For the second straight month, a sharp rise in gasoline prices helped push up prices for consumer goods, the Labor Department said Tuesday. The Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation, increased a seasonally adjusted 0.6% in September from the previous month. Prices also were up 0.6% in August. Before that, inflation had been flat or down for four consecutive months. Higher gasoline costs were again the main culprit in September. Prices at the pump, which have set records recently in California, were up 7% last month, following a 9% increase in August.

With a 7-0 record, a No. 1 ranking in the Northwest Division and the possibility of playing in a CIF state championship Division III regional bowl game, Ojai Nordhoff has its fans excited. Coach Tony Henney has put together a team of neighborhood kids led by a fantastic junior class that includes quarterback Tanner Workman (1,320 yards passing, 17 touchdowns) and running back Tayler Livingston (688 yards rushing, 11 touchdowns). "We're still a home-grown football team," Henney said.

Regarding "It's Ripening on the Vine," by Christopher Reynolds, Oct. 7: As a visitor to the Santa Ynez Valley before the days of Indian gambling, before Neverland Ranch and before vineyards and wineries, I always thought of Solvang as the Danish Tijuana. The original Hitching Post in Casmalia is a true gem. But it takes time and effort to get there. Your readers should be warned that just showing up without prior arrangements [especially on weekends] is a recipe for disappointment.